Happy to be your friend, you funny kid! (I'm 63, so I get to call you a kid!) :-)

I have the hypo unawareness going on all the time and can get to 20 and not feel it. After I fall down to below 20 it's seizure time for me. I don't know maybe like Marie & Scott E said maybe?

just wondering - I think a visit to a CDE would be a good idea - certified diabetes educator. I went to a marvelous one in Warwick NY and she got all my settings straightened out three years ago. Maybe Joe in Morristown knows a good one down there. I know he likes his doctor/endo,

I'm not suggesting you give up on the pump altogether (I'm sure you paid a pretty penny to get it!), just go back to injections until you have a doctor that knows how to properly get you started on it....

Hey Ricky... I've been reading your comments on the pump and CGM all over this site. Obviously it's not working for you. I really think you should take time off from it and go back to MDI (hoping that worked for you), provided you have the right prescriptions and insulin. Maybe you haven't been trained well on the pump, maybe you somehow got shipped a defective unit, or maybe it's just not right for you.

Either way, it seems your doc gave you the newfangled device and sent you off on your merry way without any follow-up. Also, starting you on a pump and a CGM at the same time was, in my mind, a mistake. The pump is complicated enough to learn on its own; mix in a new CGM at the same time, which is a whole different batch of skills to learn and understand, and it's a setup for disaster. Some docs like to push technology for the sake of technology, and I think that's what yours did. His/her mistake, not yours, not Medtronic's.

Honestly, the pump is pretty good (I've got the same one) but you need time off to let your feelings towards it fade a bit -- the problem may be how you got set up on it, not on the pump itself. Do yourself a favor and take a break -- then call Medtronic and ask for a doctor they recommend in your area, someone who knows the pump and knows it well. That's what I did and I couldn't be happier. I can't believe I spent as much time with my previous doc as I did, but when I got this new one, I realized that the difference is like night and day. Medtronic gave me a couple of doctors near me (I live a bit south of you): one in Fairfield and one in Wayne, but because of insurance and availability, I am with a doctor now in Morristown. He is excellent --- but it took three months before he could schedule a first appointment. If you need names, let me know.

Good luck. If it's stressing you out and making you feel sick, it's not worth it. Go back to what you know, until you are given a realistic chance to know how the pump works.

sick like a dog. head cold and chest - coughing this sucks. haven't felt good in a week and I am getting aggravated. oh well, I am home today and taking it easy - could be worse. regarding the pump, well it took me 29 years to decide to pump, I have used minimed for ~4 years now and and it's okay. there's no magic bullet ya' know. control is dicey and tricky. no one can tell you the best way to go. I did pretty good on shots, but with a crazy schedule and a basal rate that just won't work for shots, pumping was a good switch for me. not that it's perfect.... all-in-all it just sucks less than shots for me =). soooo what's the biggest challenge, is it going low? there are a lot of new variables with the pump over shots, it took me a year to get my programming right... if there's something you need help with just ask. cheers!

hey rick, just saw your friend request - yep we're kinda neighbors. hey just being nosey, you doing okay?

Rick, your comments on my page...you are sounding down. I may be biased because I have been with Medtronic since I started pumping, but it is a good pump. There is a learning curve and it seems like you were not happy with your trainer. Call Medtronic and ask for another session with someone else. Express to them your displeasure with the trainer that you had. I am sorry that you had a bad experience, but there are good CDE's out there. Have you posted any of your questions in the Medtronic forum on Tu?
I have different Carb ratios depending on the time of day. Sensitivity is how much 1 unit of insulin will cause your blood sugar to drop. I also have different sensitivity settings depending on the time of day for that as well. If I recall, at least when I first went on the pump 15 grams of Carb for 1 unit of insulin was the standard to start with. I am not sure if that has changed. With that said everyone is different.
I am not sure if any of this was helpful. Feel free to message me with your questions and I will try to help and/or point you in the right direction. Again, don't give up on the Medtronic pump just yet. Try to get another training session. Have you read the book Pumping Insulin...or it may be called Think like a Pancreas? A lot of people here like it. I can not really comment on it because I have a personal indifference to the author from many years ago when I knew him. Let me know how things go! Hang in there.

Hi Ricky. I am on Morse Avenue - # 26. I have HUGE amounts of information about Type 1. All the experiences I have gone through. I have travelled the world. I was born in Scotland - raised in Kenya, East Africa and now live here in US. I work a 10 hour day, have had two wonderful children and my husband and I own a Harley and we ride most weekends. I can tell you - that there is nothing, nothing you cannot do just because you have diabetes. Diabetes is a very personal disease and you really have to manage it the best you can. I am no expert and what works for me may not work for anybody else. Just have fun and live life to the fullest and don't ever think Diabetes can drag you down.
Send me an e-mail I am more than happy to answer any questions you may have.